European Churches Urged to Support Immigrants

By Maria Mackay, Christian Today Reporter Saturday, September 15, 2007

Delegates at the Third European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3) concluded their weeklong gathering in Sibiu, Romania, last Sunday with a call to the churches of Europe to support immigrants and other ethnic minorities.

In a four-page Assembly Message citing 10 recommendations for the future, delegates urged the continent's churches to make efforts to "offer better pastoral care for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees" and to focus that care in particular to the Roma people, the traditionally nomadic people found throughout the world.

Acknowledging the continuing quest for Christian unity in Europe, the assembly also recommended that churches renew their common mission "to proclaim Christ as the Light and the Savior of the world".

Furthermore, it encouraged churches to continue dialoguing towards a "mutual recognition of baptism;" to create more opportunities for common prayer, pilgrimages, theological education, and study in support of Christian values; and to work towards "the full participation of the whole people of God," including "young people, the elderly, ethnic minorities and disabled people."

The assembly also reaffirmed the Charta Oecumenica – a set of guidelines agreed in Europe for Christian interaction and cooperation – calling it a "stimulating" resource "for our ecumenical journey in Europe."

And it exhorted European churches and European institutions to be courageous in addressing the needs of the whole world, while the Message recommended support for the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the creation of a new "consultative process" among church organizations on the European role in addressing ecological justice, human rights and other issues of globalization. It also recommended the backing of initiatives for debt cancellation and fair trade.

EEA3 concluded with a new consensus to set aside the period between Sept. 1 and Oct . 4 on an annual basis to pray for the protection of creation and "the promotion of sustainable lifestyles that reverse our contribution to climate change."

The assembly, which began Sept. 4 and concluded Sept. 9, was organized jointly by the Roman Catholic bishops' conference of Europe (CCEE) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC) – which groups most Anglican, Protestant and Orthodox churches in Europe.

Speakers at the event included Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission; the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches; and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians.